The court dismissed the application from Chris Achter, who wanted to appeal the Saskatchewan court decision that a thumbs-up emoji served as a signature to the contract.

The court of King’s Bench ruled in 2023 that when a buyer from South West Terminal at Gull Lake, Sask. sent Achter a contract by text in 2021, and he responded with the emoji, it constituted a signed contract. When Achter didn’t deliver 87 tonnes of flax that fall, the company sued him for breach of contract.

The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal later upheld the decision, leaving Achter responsible to pay more than $82,000, plus interest, and costs.

Achter took the case to the Supreme Court, which said today it had dismissed it with costs to be paid by the respondent.

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As of Jan. 30, 2024, the net managed money short position in canola futures came in at 131,534 (5,388 long/136,922 short), which was up by roughly 200 contracts from the previous week.

Open interest in the canola market came in at 292,495 contracts, which was up by 17,653 on the week.

At the Chicago Board of Trade, the net short position in soybeans increased by about 5,000 contracts on the week at about 101,600 contracts.

Meanwhile, the net short position in corn grew by about 4,000 contracts on the week to come in at roughly 279,500 contracts.

In wheat, the Chicago soft wheat market reported a net short position of about 67,700 contracts. The net short in Kansas City hard red winter wheat came in at roughly 31,900 contracts. In Minneapolis spring wheat, managed money traders were holding a net short of around 27,200 contracts.

— Phil Franz-Warkentin is an associate editor/analyst with MarketsFarm in Winnipeg. 

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While the market was showing signs of creating a bottom, “there is a pattern in the canola market going back to the summer where we sell off, sell off too hard, then rebound a bit and consolidate, and then fall again,” said MarketsFarm analyst Mike Jubinville, adding there was nothing yet to indicate the pattern had changed.

With the March contract trading right around its 20-day moving average on Jan. 24 at C$634.30 per tonne, Jubinville placed the next upside target at the former support level around C$650 to C$660 per tonne. “Can we get there? I’m not entirely sure,” he said, noting that a move below C$600 was still entirely possible.

Domestic crushers continue to operate at near full capacity, but export demand for canola has been lacking. Jubinville said it would likely take increased export demand or an outside catalyst, such as weather concerns with South America’s soybean crop, to break canola out of its downward trending pattern.

Speculative short covering could also provide a boost, as fund traders hold a record large short position in canola. However, Canadian farmers are undersold, which means any pop in the local market will trigger farmer selling, according to Jubinville.

“Even if the funds are extraordinarily short the futures and will someday cover that position, every little bump in the market will draw just enough farmer selling to quash the bullish enthusiasm… so we’re stuck right now.”

— Phil Franz-Warkentin is an associate editor/analyst with MarketsFarm in Winnipeg. 

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The report was delayed due to the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.

As of Nov. 21, 2023, the net managed money short position in ICE canola futures came in at 87,007 (5,968 long, 92,975 short), down about 11,000 from the previous week.

Open interest in the canola market came in at 265,295 contracts, down by 13,291 on the week.

At the Chicago Board of Trade, fund traders liquidated some of their large net long position in soybeans, taking it to roughly 85,800 contracts from 95,300 the previous week.

Meanwhile, the net short position in corn was up by about 26,000 contracts, coming in at about 201,800 contracts as traders added new shorts and liquidated some longs.

In wheat, the Chicago soft wheat market reported a net short position of about 117,400 contracts. The net short in K.C. hard red winter wheat came in at roughly 48,300 contracts.

In Minneapolis spring wheat, managed money traders were holding a net short of around 27,800 contracts, which was relatively unchanged on the week.

— Phil Franz-Warkentin is an associate editor/analyst with MarketsFarm in Winnipeg.

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As of July 18, 2023, the net managed money long position in canola futures came in at 13,004 contracts (37,226 long/24,222 short), a move of about 17,000 contracts from the 3,899-contract net short posted the previous week. The last time the market was showing a net long position was the first week of January 2023.

Open interest in the canola market came in at 209,329 contracts on July 18, which was up by 3,369 from the previous week.

At the Chicago Board of Trade, fund traders were holding a net long of about 95,000 contracts in soybeans which was up by about 11,000 from the previous week. Meanwhile, the managed money short position in corn declined by about 10,000 contracts, to 46,150.

In wheat, the Chicago soft wheat market reported a net short position of about 57,000 contracts. The net long in Kansas City red winter wheat came in at roughly 13,300 contracts. In Minneapolis spring wheat, managed money traders were holding a net long of around 6,500 contracts.

— Phil Franz-Warkentin is an associate editor/analyst with MarketsFarm in Winnipeg.

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That’s according to the latest Commitments of Traders report from the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

As of July 3, the net managed money short position in canola futures came in at 18,311 contracts (46,561 short, 28,250 long), a decrease of about 8,000 contracts from the previous week.

Open interest in the canola market came in at 200,205 contracts on July 3, which was down by 5,300 from the previous week.

At the Chicago Board of Trade, fund traders were holding a net long of about 90,200 contracts in soybeans which was down by about 9,000 from the previous week. Meanwhile, the managed money position in corn flipped from a net long of 66,500 contracts to a net short of about 7,300.

In wheat, the Chicago soft wheat market reported a net short position of about 56,400 contracts. The net long in Kansas City red winter wheat came in at roughly 14,500 contracts. In Minneapolis spring wheat, managed money traders were holding a net long of around 2,000 contracts.

— Phil Franz-Warkentin is an associate editor/analyst with MarketsFarm in Winnipeg.

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As of June 20, the net managed money short position in canola futures came in at 43,381 contracts (65,025 short, 21,644 long), a decrease of about 23,000 contracts from the previous week.

Open interest in the canola market came in at 230,439 contracts on June 20, down by 15,000 from the previous week.

At the Chicago Board of Trade, fund traders were holding a net long of about 83,400 contracts in soybeans which was up by about 33,500 from the previous week. Meanwhile, the net long position in corn rose to 66,500, from only 1,800 the previous week.

In wheat, the Chicago soft wheat market reported a net short position of about 90,300 contracts. The net long in Kansas City red winter wheat came in at roughly 6,000 contracts. In Minneapolis spring wheat, managed money traders were holding a net short of around 3,300 contracts.

— Phil Franz-Warkentin is an associate editor/analyst with MarketsFarm in Winnipeg.

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As of April 4, the net managed money short position in canola futures came in at 49,470 contracts (70,671 short; 21,201 long), a decrease of about 13,500 contracts from the previous week.

Open interest in the canola market came in at 287,760 contracts on April 4, which was down by about 9,000 from the previous week.

At the Chicago Board of Trade, fund traders were holding a net long of about 145,300 contracts in soybeans, which was up by 47,000 from the previous week. Meanwhile, corn moved from a small net short of about 13,400 to a net long of 24,600, on a combination of short covering and new longs being put on the books.

In wheat, the Chicago soft wheat market reported a net short position of about 89,750 contracts. The funds were holding a net long position in Kansas City hard red winter wheat of around 7,000. In Minneapolis spring wheat, managed money traders holding were holding a small net long of 694 contracts.

— Phil Franz-Warkentin is an associate editor/analyst with MarketsFarm in Winnipeg.

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As of March 28, the net managed money short position in canola futures came in at 63,005 contracts (79,922 short/16,917 long), a decrease of about 12,000 contracts from the previous week.

Open interest in the canola market came in at 296,705 contracts on March 28, which was down by about 14,000 from the previous week.

An analyst expected to see more fund selling over the next few weeks, especially given the recent rally in crude oil, as fund traders will want to exit the May contract ahead of its expiry.

At the Chicago Board of Trade, fund traders were holding a net long of about 98,400 contracts in soybeans which was down by 13,000 from the previous week. Meanwhile, corn was showing a net short of about 13,400, which was down by 32,000 from the previous week.

In wheat, the Chicago soft wheat market reported a net short position of about 92,600 contracts. The fund position in Kansas City wheat was near even money, after showing a net short of about 10,000 the previous week. In Minneapolis, the fund position was also balanced, with managed money traders holding close to 11,000 contracts on either side of the market to post a net long of 278 contracts.

— Phil Franz-Warkentin is an associate editor/analyst with MarketsFarm in Winnipeg.

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As of March 7, the net managed money short position in canola came in at 46,222 contracts (61,998 short/15,776 long), an increase of about 3,000 contracts from the previous week and the largest net short position in three years. The CFTC is still catching up with its reports after technical issues delayed results for most of February.

Open interest in the canola market came in at 288,738 contracts on March 7, but has since climbed to over 311,000 as of March 17, according to ICE Futures data. The increase in open interest as futures prices trended lower implies the fund traders continued to add to their short positions.

At the Chicago Board of Trade, the managed money net long position in soybeans came in at 154,600 contracts on March 7, while the corn long position was only at about 15,600 contracts, dropping by 200,000 in the span of two weeks.

In wheat, the Chicago soft wheat market reported a net short position of about 103,000 contracts. The fund position in Kansas City (K.C.) wheat was showing a net short of about 11,500. In Minneapolis, the net short position was around 3,000 contracts.

— Phil Franz-Warkentin is an associate editor/analyst with MarketsFarm in Winnipeg.

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